On:
In: Aileen Orr

Nothing like a dark Scottish wet day to focus the mind on hiding under the duvet. Makes you wonder how big the Starmer bedcover is. With his popularity ratings falling, the mask has slipped and I’m reminded of the Thatcher rhetoric about how good England is to Scotland. Aye right. Here is a greyness over the UK just now, it hung over us all from the 1970s, but this feels different. The gloom is on us and the nights are drawing in but it all seems familiar, or are we moving into a transition stage where we take control and move onto our own path?Read More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton

Sadly, the Scottish Government is having to look again about what it can afford within the tight budget allowed us by the Westminster Government. I am sure those of you who read this are well aware that all the money generated by Scots goes to the Westminster coffers. They then decide what percentage of that can be returned to us to spend on our people and their future. Everyone, who paid attention, knew that there was going to be a huge deficit in the Westminster Governments budget. I mean, nobody can keep giving money away to their pals like the Tories did and expect allRead More →

On:
In: Stephen Bird

Watching the drama of the US Presidential election this week, I was struck by a simple phrase from Democrat Vice-President candidate Governor Tim Walz. He said there’s a simple political rule of thumb in small town America; “mind your own business”. It strikes me that this rule applies just as much to Scotland as it does across the pond. Governments do well when they only step into people’s everyday life a) when it’s necessary and b) to make things better. Anything else is asking to be punished. In the 20 months or so until the 2026 elections the Scottish Government has the time to turnRead More →

On:
In: Michael Hance

After the UK election, establishment commentators like Andrew Marr were talking about ten years of Starmer government. Content with the apparent resumption of normal service, they have dispensed with whatever critical faculties they once had.  Starmer was elected on the flimsiest of prospectuses. Barely a fifth of the population of England voted Labour and the party offered little more than a one word slogan as its programme for government. And since Rachel Reeves has outlined her spending plans, we’ve discovered that the change they’re going to deliver is change for the worse, especially if you’re a pensioner living in Scotland.  The real problem for LabourRead More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton

That’s all it took for them to turn their backs on the voters. Just the start of breaking all the ‘promises’ made during the election. Last week we had every Scottish Labour MP vote against reversing the 2 child tax policy brought in by the Tories. Anas Sarwar and Jackie Baillie have not been seen since. They campaigned heavily on this issue. The Labour MPs who did vote to reverse it have been suspended from the party. Has Starmer just given Jeremy Corbyn supporters? This week, the Chancellor has just taken the winter heating allowance away from all pensioners not on top up credits. AtRead More →

On:
In: Aileen Orr

In all honesty, the shooting of Donald Trump was no joke because to kill him would have martyred him and I suspect there would have been civil riots if the worst had happened.  Though not sure Trump as President is better than bumbling Biden.  But we have gone through our own problems with the Labour surge, with Westminster back in the hands of the Unionists.  Or course it is, it’s London!  The centre of the universe, ok it has twice the population of Scotland, but to be honest, and having lived there, it has its good points, but it is a cauldron which could bubble up at any time.Read More →

On:
In: Stephen Bird

Well, like most of you I’ve had better election nights! But I’m old enough to have had many worse election nights too. But the most important thing is to learn from each result, good or bad. I am pretty sure that there has never been a proper debrief after 2014 which is a problem we cannot fix. I know of none being done after 2019 either which perhaps was a contributing factor to July 4. Like Johnson in England, it’s undeniable that we benefited from a huge rejection of Jeremy Corbyn and this perhaps has allowed people to believe that the result was due toRead More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton, Uncategorized

On Tuesday the new MPs from all parties started descending on Westminster. Scottish Labour had their group photo taken outside number 10 Downing Street. The railings had been bedecked with St George’s flag bunting. Perhaps it was there to support the England football team. This is, however, the Government of the UK. For once it should have been Union flag bunting. Never understand the confusion some folk have about which flag for which event. So, who has started the tally notebook on backtracking and non delivery? Jackie Bailey has started by wanting to privatise as many areas of our NHS as they possibly can. WonderRead More →

On:
In: Michael Hance

I’m writing this before the results are in and am faced with the difficult task of predicting the election and analysing what it means.  One thing is certain it’s not going to be the best election for the SNP but it’s not going to be any kind of catastrophe either. The party is polling in the 30s and is forecast to win a minimum of 15 seats. Many constituencies are on a knife edge and a lot will depend on local campaigns and turnout.  This is peak Labour after all, the highest their support is going to be. Scotland is always caught in the gravitationalRead More →

On:
In: Aileen Orr

Yes, it’s that time again when we all join in the mayhem of a General Election.  Well, maybe not all of us.  There are those who choose not to vote, not to watch political programmes and who are as far away from the whole situation by just ignoring it all.  However, having spoken to a few of these non voters or NVs, on being pressed, they seem to have woken up to the fact, their views are not being considered because they cannot see anywhere on the TV or radio, these specific topics being discussed.  How, then you ask, do they know they are notRead More →